Bounded flexibility search and interface for travel reservations

Abstract

A system and method for selecting travel products, including but not limited to a system having a plurality of selection rules that enable the user to rapidly select the best travel product by using range searches for all search criteria.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 463,466, filed Apr. 16, 2003.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of selecting travel products, and more specifically to a system and method of selecting travel products including range searches for all search criteria. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Suppliers of travel products, such as package vacations, airplane flights, and hotels, have developed a distribution system used by travel agents to help travelers select a particular travel product. Information is delivered to the traveler in several different ways. Travelers can solicit the services of a travel agent who usually uses one of several universal search platforms (e.g. Sabre, Amadeus) and checks for availability and fare information on a particular route and set of dates the traveler is interested in. Alternatively, travelers can call the reservation desk of an airline company and receive...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] The present invention is an alternative search type applicable to all modes of distribution of travel related services. Unlike both the schedule and the fares offered searches, the system and method of the present invention makes travel plans reservations convenient and less time-consuming through a bounded flexibility search, allowing travelers to enter information in a range rather than a point-to-point format. In one preferred embodiment, the present invention introduces a new type of travel search that enables the user to perform an exhaustive search of travel alternatives over the entire range of their flexibility along different criteria (e.g. travel dates and times, geographies, length of stay). In another preferred embodiment, the invention is a method for segmenting the travel market and customizing the search interface across different customer segments.

Problems solved by technology

Alternatively, travelers can call the reservation desk of an airline company and receive a potentially broader selection of fares that, however, is limited to the services that the airline in question and its partners and affiliates offer.

This search is widely available and is usually termed “schedule search.” The limitations of this search are that if a traveler has flexible travel plans the search cannot practically show all the options that meet the traveler's criteria and let the traveler choose the best option.

This is not only impractical (at five minutes per search it requires 167 hours) but also impossible to do since airline seat availability and fare information is updated at least every fifteen minutes.

While this allows travelers to quickly compare alternative routes (e.g. Boston-London, Boston-Paris, Boston-Milan), it does not guarantee that any of the displayed fares will actually be available on the particular dates the traveler wishes to travel.

Given that significant number of the cheaper fares are limited to travel only on particular days of the week and that availability for them is fairly limited, booking a ticket in this way usually requires the traveler to check several fares before being able to find travel arrangements that meet his timing constraints.

In addition, once the cheapest fare on a particular routing is not available, the traveler usually has to reprioritize his choice of destinations and see whether some other destination is not now cheaper to travel to.

That results in between 1,350 and 2,250 searches, which again makes performing an exhaustive search to find the best alternative not only impractical but also impossible due to changes in seat availability and fare information.

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